Isn’t it fascinating that in Romans 2, what Paul points to back in Isaiah is hypocrisy. That a few hundred years before Paul was writing God’s name was being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of the church. And that it was still the case in the 1st century… that God’s name was blasphemed because of the behaviour of some Christians. And it’s still the same today, isn’t it? I’ve lost count of how many people give the reason for why they have left church as hypocrisy, we talk about the disparity that exists between what we preach and what we do.
I’d like us to see is that actually the issue lies in the pride. The language in verses 17 to 21 of Romans chapter 2 is language that could easily be twisted into a prideful stance. You could give yourself a title, you could boast, you could see yourself as superior, you could see yourself as being instructed by something superior, you could see yourself above others looking down on them, you could be very certain of where you stand and seek to lord it over other people, and already you’re twisting what you’re meant to be doing because you’re not meant to lord it over other people, and then before you know it you’re onto a path of hypocrisy.
The temptation for us is to say, “well, we should never pursue these apparently good things, we should never give ourselves the title of Christian, we should never boast in God, we should never seek to know anything good, we should never pursue helping the blind, helping those in darkness.” But no. All those things these are good things. So that’s not the target.
But on the other hand, what people might also say is “Well, there’s no place for messing up, so we should never make any mistakes”. And so, the teaching I might give from Romans 2 “You better not mess up! You better not be failing to practice what you preach, you better not steal, you better not commit adultery, you better not rob temples, you better not break the law in any way!” No, that’s wrong too.
What’s needed is not hypocrisy but transparency, for us to see that having a title of Christian, of being someone who relies on the law, of boasting God, of knowing God’s will, of approving good things, they’re all right pursuits. But (and this is an important but) if that ever gets twisted into pride that’s when the issues began.
And then it’s the same on the other side, yes we all steal and fail to practice what we preach and commit adultery in our hearts and idolatry in our hearts, we break God’s law, we all do it… However if we are people who are preaching forgiveness in Christ; if we are people who—when we do break the law—go to God for forgiveness, then it makes sense that we are both Christians and people who sin. We’re not hypocrites, we are God’s people who understand the gospel. That’s the issue, that’s the key difference between a Christian and a fake-Christian…
If our preaching admits that we have failed to practice this themselves; if we preach against stealing and admit that we’ve stolen and that we need God’s forgiveness for stealing; if we preach against adultery but say “I’ve got adultery in my heart”; if we admit that we do what is contrary to God’s law then we can tell the world “You are wrong for breaking God’s law but so am I and I need Jesus just like you need Jesus.”
